Packing construction for pumps



' H. IVI. GREEN.

PACKING CONSTRUCYIONv FOR PUMPS. APPLlcATmN FILED SEPT. 15, 1919. RENEWED APR. 17,1922.

1574379938. A Y Patented Dec.5,1922.

.-f Patented @esu b21-'lignei v veuit)51u STATES" Hemer in; cinnamon Losnnsn'nns, CALIFORNIA. f

recante' coNs'rnfUcirroN-ron rulers,

j y.application .iledl September 15,1919; Serial No.7323,969. Renewed 'April-17, 1522.A Serial No. 553,936... u

To all whom t may confiera;

'Be it knownythat HnNnr M. a v

I -I citizen of the United tates, residing at Los Aactor one An eles, in the county of Los Angeles,A State of alifornia, have invented certain' new and useful Improvements in, Packing Construction forPumps, of which the fo lowing is a completehspecication'.

. The presenty Anvention relates packing means forpumping apparatus, and aims to provdej'an Aimproved Vstructure of this char-' ,feature'of which is the utilization ofv thev weight of the liquid' above the packing for maintaining thesametightl'y comy pressed, l l

It is' also an object of the invention to de vise'a pump packing structure in which both the weight of v.thev liquid above thev packing y and the weight' ofthe pumpvplunger mem- .ber are rendered available for'action 1n coml pressing the packing;

to provide a' construcllt is further sought tion 1n which automatic means 'are included for the'purpo'se of latching andv retaining the as it yields in vresponse .tol the' pressure applied theretoi .Q

packing. in its compressed "condition as' fast n VWith these -generalobjects in view, as well deemed to'be novel plurality of pump tube sections 6 .by couplings 8 within whlch tube minorobjects whichwill; appear in the course of the detailed descriptiony'fthe in` as. l

v'vention will Vnow bel described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing illustrating'a form of construction which l have dey vised for embodying theproposed improvements," vafterl lwhich the features thereof4 will be set forthA and particularly deiined'in the appended claims.`

In thedrawing- .Figure 11s a vertical sectional view showing the upper portion of afpump apparatus igure 2 'is' a similar view showinglthe lower portion of the same apparatus; and;

Figures 3 and 4' are transverse sections takenonv the lines 3 3 and 4 4, respectively, of Egure 1 (Figure 4 being lon an enlarged s'caie). v

Referring in shows a pump construction detail to. said drawing, this comprising a connected structure I is reciprocated, by anysuitable mechanical means, a'hollowv plunger member made upof tubulenrv sections 10, 12, connected by a by yto the packing.'

cated a valve seat 16 .supporting a ball check valve 18 oppositev openings 20 inthe lower end of the pipe section 10. At the lower limit; ofthe 'plungers movement lis a second ball; check valve 22 carried byra valve seat 24 within a cage structure comprising a tube bushing 14. bovev the bushing 14 is lov section. 26 having outlet openings 29 and .provided with a follower 28 actuated by a' spring 30 into engagement with the valve 22, the top of said tube section 26 being fitted with a plug 32.. The parts" of the lower 'check-valve are carried by a casting 34 retainedy in place by the lower coupling A8, .said

casting 34 forming the connection to a screen.

construction for the bottom of the pump apparatus, the details ofwhich screen are omitted since the same form no' part of the present invention.

. Between thetwo lower 'pump tube sections 6 'is provided a packing cup' 36 retained in place by the coupling 8 at l'this point, said' cup 36serving as the fixed support for a supply 'of suitable packing. 38 between the tube sections 6 and` the plunger member, Mounting above saidlpackmg 38 is a movf able cup section or follower member 40 with the'top face` of which is engaged a ratchet sleeve 42 of appropriate length and slidingly fitting the plunger member.; y'The upper end of this sleeve 42 is provided with a series of rings 44 of suitable lexiblematerialsuch as leather and havingl relatively thin and 'tapered lip4 portions for engagement withthe inner faceo'f-.the pipe Section 6in the manner. illustrated in Figure l, said. rings 44 beingsecured in place by means of collars 46 secured on the upper end of the sleeve 42.

The arrangementand construction are such as to adapt the weight of the liquid between the pumping tube and Yplunger to be received by the lcup .formation atv the upper end of the sleeve 42' and transmit the force of said Y weight through the sleeveand follower 40 vto the packing 'and'.thereby compress said packing. v`rlhe .upper end of the sleeve is also adapted to be engaged by an enlarged portion 48 formed on the bushing v14, whereby the weight of the plunger may, on suficient lowering of the same, .be utilized to compress the packing through pressure applied.- to said sleeve 42 and transmitted there- Latclnng means is also provided for engaging the sleeve and automatically latching the same as fast. as it isl depressed bythe force or pressure applied thereto. rIhis meansA comprises a series of ratchet elements 50 movafbly mounted within a recessed 'casting 52 retained by vone of the couplingsv 8 in position surrounding the ratchet sleeve 42.

If desired .(though not essential), a coil spring 58 engaged on opposite sides by a pair of follower members 60, 62, may be interposed midway in the packing material 38 for, providing a pressure means acting constantly in cooperation with the aforesaid construction to take' up any give or relaxation in the packing under working conditions.

It is thus apparent that I have provided an extremely simple but eflicient arrangement and construction whereby all the weight of the liquid between the pump tube and plungeris effectively utilized in tightening the packing around. the plunger, together with automatic means comprising the spring pawls or ratchets and the ratchet sleeve for maintaining the packing tightened under the pressuii of all this weight of the liquid, since the said ratchet constructionv obviously preventstiie'sleeve 42 from rising. When the.

' operation of the pump is first started and before the liquid being pumped has filled the tubing, they plunger may be' lowered suffi'-- ciently below the normal limit of.its down- Ward movement to engage the projection 48 with the top of the ratchet sleeve, thereby initially compressing the packing, after which the packing Will be kept 'uniformly packed'under a substantially constant pressure throughout the remainder of the pumps operation. 'The provision of the spring 58 and the intermediate followers 60 and 62 affords an auxiliary pressure means which serves to even out or equalize the application of the pressure, as will bereadilyunderstood.

While I have described and illustrated what'I now regard as the preferred form of cgnstruction for embodying the proposed improvements, I desire to reserve the right to make such formal changes or modifications as may fairly fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A pump packing construction comprising a pump tube, a plunger operating in-said tube, packing surrounding said plunger within said tube, a fixed packing cup supporting said packing, a follower member embracing the top of said packing, and flexible cup means supported by said follower member in position for receiving the weight o f the liquid above said cup means between said tube and plunger and transmitting the force of said weight to compress the packing. h 2. A pump packing construction comprising apump tube, a plunger operating in said y tube, packlngqslurrounding said plunger With- 1n said tube, a fixed packing cup supporting said packing, a follower member. em-

bracing the top of said packing, and means associated with said follower member for receiving `the weight of the liquid between said tube and plunger above said packing for transmitting the force of said weight to compress the packing, including means for automatically latching said follower mem- I movement.

In wltness whereof I hereto affix my signature.

HENRY M. GREEN.

and automatic latch means actl lng to `retain said sleeve against upward 

